Enar's Vacation - Open Beta

Chapter 17

3233 Words

This is a beta version of Enar's Vacation. Changes can - and probably will - be made as a result of reader feedback. I hope you'll enjoy it and I hope you'll take the time to give me some feedback. It will help me make this story the best it can be.

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A dog started barking somewhere up ahead in the forest on the left side of the road. Another one joined in almost right away and then a third. Soon an entire horde of dogs bayed in the distance.

Enar stopped and stared into the trees. The pines stood tall and straight, far apart and with only moss covering the ground. Howling beasts would appear, charging through the forest, any moment now. There was nowhere he could hide they wouldn't find him.

"Come on my friend. It's not far now," said Rolf. "In case you hadn't guessed." He laughed and kept on walking.

They'd sat around for a bit after breakfast, watching the kids clear the table and letting their bellies settle on the meal. Beired had brought Enar a rucksack with some apples and sandwiches, and a slab of meat for his guide. She'd also packed him a carved wooden cup and explained that there would be plenty of streams he could drink from. Any running water was fine, standing pools were not.

Rolf had talked about what nice animals the dogs were and what a fine old tradition the breeding of dogs was. When he'd started talking about how they did it, Beired had shushed him up and said something about how the hills had their secrets and how they would keep them - at least if she had any say in it.

Without losing a beat, Rolf had gone on to tell Enar about when Elsie had run off last summer and one of the dogs had brought her home again. He explained they were often used to carry messages between villages, especially in fall and spring when the roads were bad.

Rolf had talked and talked, as he did, and eventually Enar had come to accept the idea that he'd spend the day with a bloodthirsty slavering beast. He'd almost - but just almost - come to look forward to it.

Now, a dark - and growing - ball of unease gnawed at the depths of Enar's stomach. It didn't matter that the dogs weren't coming any closer. Actually hearing them bark had shaken his resolve. He steeled himself. He couldn't chicken out now. He'd said he'd go.

Without a word he adjusted his rucksack and started walking again. He refused to be the silly city fylk who was afraid of dogs. It wasn't as if they were actually dangerous; he was just being irrational. If the locals could handle the animals, he should be able to as well.

Should.

They turned another bend and he saw the first of them. A small black creature waited by the roadside, just where a path led up into the trees. Its tail whipping back and forth, it barked as if its life depended on it.

Enar stopped and looked. The dog wasn't that big. It barely reached him to the knee. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all. When it spotted them it started jumping up and down, looking very excited.

"You see that my friend? Very well trained."

"What do you mean?" All Enar saw was an excited, yapping dog by the side of the road.

"Boundaries. It's just a pup, but it already knows it's not allowed to go on the road so it's staying by the side."

Just a pup. Enar's heart sank. The mama dog would be enormous and it would bark even louder. "I see... very nice."

"Oh, don't be so gloomy. You'll be fine my friend." Rolf put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. "We'll get you a good guide, and you'll be right as rain. Don't you worry."